Monday, June 13, 2016

One of the largest mass shootings in the history of the United States yesterday in Orlando has many public safety professionals thinking about what can be done in their local context. While some of the issues are national or even international in scope, there are some very good things we can do at the local level. Here are some thoughts that came to mind over the lunch hour. Although I think we have given all of these some attention, there is always room for improvement.

We can improve our ability to collect, analyze, and when appropriate disseminate intelligence information. The may mean providing good training to police officers on what to be alert for, how to document suspicious activity, and so forth. We should not forget the community, either. We did a lot of work in the 1990s with landlords and retailers to make them aware of the kinds of activities that might be related to methamphetamine labs. The result was lots of tips that really helped. We need to do the same thing surrounding terrorism and radicalization. We also need to maintain or improve our analytical abilities. This means investing in software, system, and (most importantly) analysts needed to turn information into intelligence,

We can participate in information sharing and joint agency operations. Participation in joint terrorism task forces, shared information platforms, and even just good informal relationships with our area law enforcement agencies will maximize our opportunities to connect the dots. We must avoid information silos and cultivate an environment of inter-agency collaboration.

We can cultivate and maintain a good relationship with the LGBTQ community, developing personal relationships with opinion leaders, community members, business owners, and so forth. These citizens feel incredibly vulnerable in the wake of Orlando, and need to be assured that we take our duty to protect them seriously, and are committed to doing our best to vigorously investigate hate crimes and hold perpetrators responsible.

We can cultivate and maintain good relationships with the Muslim community in our jurisdiction. They need to know that we are concerned for their safety and well-being, that we will protect them and the free exercise of their religion. We need to develop personal relationships of trust, so that Muslim citizens will feel comfortable contacting the police about when they have information we need to know about.

We can train and exercise for active shooter events and mass casualty events. We can make sure that this training includes everyone that is likely to be working together in such incidents: law enforcement agencies, 911 centers, fire and rescue agencies, hospitals, etc.. We should train for a team effort, because if we ever have such incidents, they will undoubtedly involve all of us.

We can train police officers in critical emergency care for traumatic wounds. We can make sure that officers have the basic equipment and training that might allow them to save a critically-injured victim before medical personnel can take over patient care.

We can improve our ability to get life-saving emergency care to patients in danger zones. This will require improving communication between law enforcement personnel and EMS responders. We need to train together with enough regularity that we all understand how we will safely get patients out, and paramedics in, when the threat is still imminent, and the situation only partially stabilized. We need to practice communication, unified command, and collaborative operations in the mundane daily events, such as traffic crashes, so it is second nature when it is most needed.

We can organize a multi-disciplinary threat management team, with expertise in assessing information and identifying the truly dangerous.

Early identification and rapid intervention are the most important components to prevention, and prevention is the paramount goal. Robust intelligence processes, information sharing, and good connections in the community are critical to intercepting terrorists before they can act.

17 comments:

While I appreciate your comments, this was not the largest mass shooting in American history.

Wounded Knee was the largest mass shooting in American history. And I will *mostly avoid additional commentary regarding the fact that immediately before the massacre, the victims gave up their weapons and supplicated themselves to the will of the soldiers who represented the government.

Most of the things mentioned are how to prepare and respond. What about prevention? Lone wolves are impossible to stop since they don't communicate with terror networks. No I won't get into the gun debate but mental health is another issue. We can't take away someone's civil rights by just thinking they might commit an act or that they are "weird". I put a lot of blame on the internet giving access to anything a mentally challenged person wants to become. The internet gives you connections to every dark world that is out there. How do we stop that?There are things that can be done but those things would involve giving up the freedom and liberties that this Country loves.I don't think you can ever stop the Lone Wolf. The world has definitely become a dark place in the last couple decades.

Director,There is a 900 pound GORILLA in the room that nobody seems to see. Like almost all of the last 20 or so mass killings of 4 or more, this took place in a GUN FREE ZONE. I appreciate the job Law Enforcement does but the fact is police usually do the paperwork and investigation AFTER the fact.

Although Florida has a Concealed Carry Law a provision in that Law PROHIBITS concealed Carry in places that serve Alcohol. That does make sense even to me, a Certified Gun Nut. Guns and Alcohol do not mix has been drilled into me by my Father, Grandfather and other gun instructors all my life. However it is ironic that the presence of just one CCW permit holder might have saved dozens of lives. But IF that would have happened that person would NOW be facing criminal charges. Our society needs a SANITY check.Gun Nut AKADennis Lorance

Am I mistaken, or did I read that an off-duty Orlando police officer engaged him in a gun battle at the door as he entered? Don't think I'd like much to get involved in a firefight with a guy armed with an AR when all I have is my .40 S&W Sig-Sauer and a can of pepper spray, but on the other hand, it's better than a broken beer bottle.

I think all of your suggestions are good ones. It appears to me the weak link, at least as it relates to the Orlando event, was the fact that many people seemed aware of this individual's problems with anger management, his propensity for violence, and his associations with Islamic terrorists and/or their organizations. This included his wife, his coworkers, and incredibly the FBI; yet he was still able to purchase guns and commit this horrendous act. What does it take for us to understand that human rights sometimes have to take a back seat to the potential for violent behavior? Hell, in Lincoln, just getting caught driving a tiny bit over the BAC limit can result in your not being able to own or purchase a gun. How is it the FBI can have someone like this in their hands and free him to do as he pleases?

All of the good relations and communication with the Muslim community won't help a bit if we don't act on it to make sure this kind of thing is not allowed to happen. As far as I'm concerned, from what I've heard and read, the Orlando shooter should not been allowed to purchase guns legally, and perhaps should have even been jailed or deported long before this event occurred.

Certainly you could argue, had he not been able to purchase guns legally, he could have obtained them illegally. Obviously, we're not going to be able to prevent every terrorist intent on this kind of thing, but to have them in your hands and still let it happen is inexcusable.

Couldn't agree more. From what I've read, the FBI could not find a law violation, and there is nothing in the law that prohibited him from legally buying the guns he used in the attack. Surely there are things that could be done to prevent someone like this from legally buying guns, without infringing too much on other citizens' rights.

Director,I did go back and read the Blog from about six years ago. I remember a few comments about how Legalizing Concealed Carry would turn the State into the "Wild West". It has been several years now since concealed carry has been legalized in Nebraska . Have you done any number crunching on Crimes committed by CCW permit holders? How about incidents where a CCW Permit holder has intervened to stop a crime? Or incidents where a CCW permit holder had an accidental discharge? I know of anecdotal stories but official stats are different. My point is that passing Concealed Carry has not resulted in the bloodbath that many predicted. And I know CCW has stopped a few criminals from mayhem ( The Walgreens in Omaha comes to mind).Gun Nut

Just to reiterate, I was never one of those people who claimed we would have blood in the streets with concealed carry: only that we would have the occasional permit holder who shouldn't really have one, and the inevitable handful of stupid human tricks.

Yes, I did some number crunching back in 2011, about four years after passage, and we had 61 incidents at that time where CCW permit holders had some kind of behavioral malfunction that came to the attention of the police--assault, road rage incident, mental breakdown, drunken fight, DWI, a suicide attempt, accidental shooting, etc.. Very small percentage, but exactly what I predicted. I haven't recreated this since then, because it was a LOT of work, and I've never seen this as serving any purpose other than to confirm the obvious: human beings tend to mess up now and then.

This should come as no surprise. Even good people do bad things. If you take a couple of thousand people--even pretty good people--it's not hard to conceive that 15 of them would do something dumb in any given year.

What troubles me about this is that it some cases, you can see this coming a mile away--like the two people I have blogged about in the past. If I could wave the magic wand, you wouldn't be able to possess a firearm or a CCW permit if you were 1) on the FBI's terrorist watch list; 2) on the TSA's no-fly list; 3) have attempted suicide within the past five years; 4) have been convicted within the past 10 years of the misdemeanors contained in Lincoln Municipal Ordinance 9.36.100; UNLESS a court rules to the contrary. I have no problem with an aggrieved citizen having good recourse to take this to higher authority, i.e. a judge.

We've had a handful of incidents since CCW passed in Nebraska where armed citizens have thwarted a crime in Lincoln, but I don't think any of those have involved concealed carry.

I have a good recollection of two citizens, Tommy and Erin, each of whom thwarted crimes because they were carrying a concealed firearm. Those were in 1980 and 1987, prior to Nebraska's concealed carry legislation.

Director,I have always appreciated your level headed thinking on not only second Amendment issues but other fundamental rights. One thing about "RIGHTS: If my rights are trampled on it is very easy to get upset. The question is: Do I get as upset when rights of those I may not like or agree with are infringed? Gun Nut

I won't go so far as to say you are fudging the numbers to prove your point, but I would be curious to know just how many of those 61 incidents actually had anything to do with a gun. Obviously, the accidental shooting(s)did, but none of the other events, including the suicide attempt, necessarily had anything to do with a gun. Any of them may have happened with, or without, a CHP or the presence of a gun. I suspect that at least some of those 61 did not involve a gun at all, but simply involved someone who had a CHP.

I've had my CHP longer than anyone else in the state, and I've yet to experience any need or mishap, for which I'm glad. On the other side of the coin, I've always felt a bit guilty that I, even though I was in the military during the Viet Nam conflict, never had to face combat or the opportunity to help others who were in mortal danger, whether it was related to war or civil criminal actions.

There have been times when convenience stores were robbed, and other such incidents, when, except for a matter of time, I might have been there and been able to thwart the crime or limit the extent of it. For example, I was at the gas station on 48th and Randolph just a few hours before it was robbed at gunpoint sometime last year. It's not that I crave the opportunity to shoot a bad guy, but I would be more than willing to help someone being threatened or assaulted by one. I won't deny that I would be proud to have helped someone, or defended myself, and in the process remove some evil person from society.

I believe there are upwards of 17,000 CHPs issued in Nebraska now. It might be a lot more, but I don't know where I can get that information. I'd be surprised if more than one or two had any incidents that got the attention of police and had anything to do with them carrying a gun at the time. If they did, the media would have been all over it. The one exception might be someone carrying while having alcohol in their system. Even if they never touched their gun, they were in violation of the law by carrying concealed while having alcohol in their blood. Personally, I would not count that as a problem with concealed carry, because had that person simply pulled their shirt back so you could see their gun, there would have been no violation.

If you have the time, Tom, I'd really like to know about those 61 cases back in 2011. That is, how many of those incidents actually had anything to do with carrying a concealed handgun, and how many were incidents that simply involved someone with a CHP? I'd also like to know over the long term (from 2007 until now).

I never said all these incidents involved a gun. A few did; most did not. And I never brought this up until Gun Nut asked. I think it should be obvious that a certain percentage people who have concealed carry permits are subject to the same poor judgment and bad behavior from time to time as the rest of the human species.

It would be a lot of work to write a synopsis of all 61 cases for you, although I have a spreadsheet with hyperlinks to each of the case files. It would also be a lot of work to do the same thing for 2011-2016. I'm not inclined to devote several days to the effort, because I don't see any value, and it will simply confirm the obvious: some people do dumb stuff.

Tom,I realize you didn't initially say those 61 incidents actually involved a gun in some way. However, by not saying they didn't, you open the door to a lot of people who are against concealed carry to claim that 61 incidents in one year is too many.

I'm glad you clarified that, at least. I didn't really expect you would have time to compiles figures for the nearly ten years we've had the CHP Act in Nebraska, but it would be interesting (to me anyway).

I agree that everyone is subject to doing dumb things, even those with CHPs, or police officers, or doctors, or clergymen. We're all human. I'm going to trust the media's penchant for making front page news out of any incident involving a gun, and so far, I only remember one truly dumb/illegal thing done by a CHP holder here in Nebraska that actually involved a gun. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. I believe his name might have been Gary. Unless I missed something, we really dropped the ball on that one by allowing him to keep his CHP after what he did.

Un, no. Of those 61 incidents I looked at in Lincoln from 2007-2011 at least 11 involved a gun; including four cases where the gun was discharged, and two in which self-inflicted gun shot wounds were sustained. Those include assaults, terroristic threats, DWI, drunk while packing, failing to tell the officer, accidental discharge, 3 attempt suicides. I have no doubt that if I did the same work from 2012-2016, we'd find the same sort of stuff, to one degree or another.

The reason you haven't heard about these incidents is that they were not all picked up by the news media, and even when they were, the law makes information concerning concealed carry permit holders confidential, so they would be unlikely to know that the person in question had a concealed carry permit.

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